May 6, 2012 - Graduation Day3210 views“How could I tell my children one day how important an education is, if I didn’t have one? This is pretty special to me. I’m proud to not just say I’m an alum. Now I’m a graduate.” – Ben

Photo: AP

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May 6, 2012 - Graduation Day2852 views"To me, this is as just as big, if not bigger, than winning the Super Bowl. This is the Super Bowl in life.''

Photo: AP

May 6, 2012 - Graduation Day2658 viewsFrom USA Today:

Most of the assembly didn't know Roethlisberger was coming. When he suddenly appeared in the lineup with his class, the cell phones quickly came out and the texting began.

"I'm going to be sitting there thinking, 'When I was in college, this person (next to him) was probably in middle school,' " Roethlisberger said before the ceremony. "I'm going to be the old man out there, but it's worth it.' "

Worth it, because he promised his parents in 2003, when he left Miami four credits short for the NFL, that one day he would graduate.

May 6, 2012 - Graduation Day4435 viewsBen poses with his wife Ashley after receiving his diploma.

From USA Today:

Roethlisberger’s autumns have been kind of busy. And something always seemed to prevent him from enrolling in time for the winter term. AFC Championship Games, for instance.

But the Steelers were quick outs against Denver the past season and the morning after the defeat, his Miami academic advisor sent him an email. Roethlisberger figured it was a note of condolence. Instead, it was a call to class.

“He responded in less than 20 minutes,” said Melissa Chase, associate dean. “He never asked for a shortcut. It was always, ‘What do I need to do?’ He did everything we asked of him. I know this was always a very important goal for him.”

What they asked of him at the end included a paper on Tibet. “Which I knew nothing about,” he said. Analyzing the New England defense was never like this. But luckily wife Ashley, with two degrees, makes a swell study buddy. He ended up with an A, and possibly more knowledge of Tibet than any quarterback in the NFL.

February 9, 2013 - Miami University Hall of Fame Induction Weekend2438 viewsRoethlisberger was Saturday’s headliner and spoke about his affection for Miami and the degree that he finalized in 2012. His last football season in Oxford was 2003, when the RedHawks went 13-1 and earned a No. 10 ranking by the Associated Press.

“I’m honored to be a graduate, to have my number retired, to be in the Hall of Fame now and to say that I went to Miami,” Roethlisberger said. “People all the time ask, why Miami? And I say obviously the academics and a chance to play early and Coach Hoeppner.”

Of the bachelor’s degree in education that he picked up last May, the 30-year-old Findlay High School graduate said it was something he always hoped to obtain.

“It was a bigger goal early on, and then as you start getting sidetracked, offseasons get shorter and things are going on,” Roethlisberger said. “Having a son on the way — and now he’s here — it just kind of motivated me further to get it done and just to tell my son and hopefully more kids that I got my degree and how important education is.”

2003 GMAC Bowl program cover3105 viewsPainted by artist "Frenchy" in his Cambronne Street Studio in New Orleans (December 2003). The image was used for the 2003 GMAC Bowl Program Cover and shows Ben Roethlisberger in the background after throwing a pass.

2003 MAC Championship4351 viewsBen Roethlisberger celebrates his Miami of Ohio Redhawks victory over the Bowling Green State Falcons 49 - 27 in the Mid-American Conference Championship in Bowling Green, Ohio , December 4, 2003. Roethlisberger set a title-game record with 440 passing yards.

From the 2006 Miami of Ohio Media Guide4754 viewsBen is featured in the Alumni section's "What they are saying":

"From the people to the campus to the football program, everything at Miami is to love. Oxford was like a home away from home for me, and I loved having the opportunity to help carry on Miami's football tradition while working towards that priceless Miami degree."